Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes with momstown Niagara

momstown Niagara celebrated the release of the new movie Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes with a fun "everything ballet and Barbie™" event.

We met at Creative Dance Studio in St. Catharines with many excited little ballerinas for a special dance lesson. It was amazing how they were able to hold the attention of so many little girls for such a long time!  We all definitely "danced from our hearts"!

After all the dancing we made our very own princess and prince crowns, complete with jewels and sparkly decorations.

With our new crowns on we enjoyed a ballet demonstration by some of the very talented dancers at Creative Dance Company.  Our momstown kiddies were a fantastic audience!

And what would a celebration be without cupcakes?  Everyone had lots of fun icing and decorating their own!  Can you tell who really loved the cupcakes?

In the midst of all the excitement, Rylan found a peaceful place on the floor to get down to business with her Barbie™ colouring sheet!

Congratulations goes to Pamela who won the draw for the Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes DVD!

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http://niagara.momstown.ca/user/register

Easter fun with momstown Niagara

We had such a great time celebrating Easter with all of our families this past weekend.  We had our fingers crossed for some spring weather so we were so excited to see the sun!

What would an Easter party be without an Easter Egg Hunt?  So of course, we started our party with one. 

Everyone met outside for a hunt around the Russell Ave. splash pad and park.  It didn't take long for everything to be found! 

After the hunt we went back inside for some music and snacks.  Kindermusik with Miss Alicia was there to sing some  songs and hop like bunnies to some great music.  Even the moms and dads were dancing!

Bunny crafts were a highlight for our friends as well.

Our guests were thrilled to have Calvin Frank join us for some lovely Easter portraits.  Everyone had a chance to have a special keepsake photograph of their families.

Our families very generously brought all kinds of fun Easter treats for everyone to share.  Cupcakes before noon...well Easter does only come once a year!

Thanks everyone for such a fun day!

momstown Niagara's Jr. Chef Visit to Johnny Rocco's

Here at momstown, Jr. Chef is one of our flagship events that we hold each month.  We know as moms how fun it can be to cook and bake with our children and how much the children love to be involved.

This month's Jr Chef event was held at Johnny Rocco's in St Catharines.  We made moon pizzas for our March space theme!

Johnny Rocco's has been the go-to restaurant for our family over the last few years and we knew it was the perfect place to bring our jr chefs.  Part of the excitement about going to Johnny Rocco's is how accommodating they are with children.  Having small children, going out to restaurants was something we stopped doing for a long time because it became more of a hassle than it was worth.  Often times we would spend so much time keeping the kids under control that we would end up bringing our own dinners home with us.  Eventually we just gave up all together and decided to wait a while before revisiting the restaurant scene!

We did eventually take them out again when Johnny Rocco's opened not far from our house.  The kids had such a great time and everyone was so great with them.  After their dinner they got to sit up at the pizza bar and mold their own dough which was then baked for them.  They got to add things like chocolate sauce, whipped cream and chocolate chips and eat it for dessert!  They had so much fun!

Yesterday we brought our mamas and their little ones to make their own pizzas.  Everyone sat at the pizza bar while Chef Tony helped them mold their dough. He even showed us how to throw the dough in the air - he almost hit the ceiling!

Brianna is doing a great job making her pizza all by herself! 

We had such a great time and we are very thankful to Chef Tony and Celynn for taking such good care of us and showing us how much fun Johnny Rocco's is.  Plus, the pizza was delicious!

If you go to Johnny Rocco's before Easter, each table of 4 will receive an egg with a scratch card for a chance to win some really great prizes!  We won a FREE dessert!

Jr. Chef is one the 20+ events included in your annual membership fee of $45!  Register Here to try us out for FREE for 4 weeks and get connecting with other mama's!!

Enter to Win Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes DVD!

Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes is an exciting ballet movie in which Barbie™ stars as Kristyn, the hard-working dancer, who wows the big ballet company in her performance of Giselle and Swan Lake.  Through this journey Kristyn learns that when you dance from your heart – your dreams can come true.

To enter the contest, to win this great Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes DVD click here or alternatively leave a comment in the section below about why your child loves Barbie.  Only one method of entry per email address.  Make sure you sign in with your email address so we can contact you if you have won. 

Contest open March 1-31, 2013. Winners will be drawn on March 31, 2013 and contacted via momstown.

Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes Music and Movement Event!

Is there a Barbie™ fan at your house?

We are hosting a special Music & Movement event at Creative Dance Company on Thursday March 28th from 5:00 - 6:00 to celebrate the newest Barbie™ movie, Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes!

 Join us for a ballet demonstration and an introductory ballet class!  We will have a special themed craft planned and an area for Barbie™ play.  Boys and Girls are encouraged to dress the part with their ballet and dance attire and bring along their Barbie's­™!  This is an OPEN event.  If you're not a momstown Niagara member, you can sign up on our facebook event, or email erin.mcnamara@momstown.ca

We will celebrate the launch of the "Barbie™ In The Pink Shoes" movie, the latest release available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack & DVD as of February 26th, 2013.

"Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes" is an exciting ballet movie in which Barbie™ stars as Kristyn, the hard-working dancer, who wows the big ballet company in her performance of Giselle and Swan Lake. Through this journey Kristyn learns that when you dance from your heart – your dreams can come true. 

There will be a draw for this great new DVD at the event!  You can also enter in our contest by commenting below with your name and email address, telling us why your children love Barbie™!

Barbie™ has also introduced a line up of dolls, accessories and a playset which allow girls to recreate some of their favorite scenes from the film. A must have is the Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes as Kristyn Farraday™. Two in one, girls can simply twist the doll and her skirt reverses for a magical transformation!











Thank you to Creative Dance Company for hosting this fantastic event for us!  They offer a wide variety of programs, such as Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop & Zumba.  This includes great programming for toddlers:  "Tippy Toes Ballet" ( 3 yrs old ) and "Tiny Tots Dance" ( 3 & 4 yrs. old )

Not a momstown Niagara member but want to join us? Visit us at our momstown Niagara site and register for a FREE 4 week trial membership and see what we're all about! A membership is only $45/year and you get to participate in amazing sponsored programs like this all the time! 

Also, in 2013, with every full year membership purchased you get a BONUS subscription to Today's Parent Magazine!

Fisher Price at momstown Niagara's Family Fun Day!

Fisher Price had it's own Play and Learn Centre at our recent Family Day launch event!  They provided a great place for families to bring their infants to crawl around and try out some of their awesome toys, or even have a nap in the beautiful My Little Snugabunny Cradle and Swing!  Toward the end of the day we raffled off all 4 of these great products that were generously donated by Fisher Price!

This snuggly little baby had a peaceful nap during all the commotion of the day for almost an hour and believe it or not, she was the lucky winner!

Her parents were so thrilled to take this home for her!







This little baby had a great time playing with the Say Please Tea Set. This fun and educational set teaches  children ages 6-36 months about numbers, shapes, opposites, manners and greetings and when you tilt the teapot it plays tunes!

Here are the winners of the Say Please Tea Set.  Perfect for their 2 baby girls!!!

We also raffled off the Ocean Wonders Aquarium and the Laugh and Learn Click 'n Learn Remote!  All the babies had a great time discovering and learning with these great toys!

What a great addition to our day!  Big thanks to Fisher Price for your participation in our Family Fun Day!!

momstown Niagara Family Fun Day: A Great Success!

We held our momstown Niagara launch event this past Family Day and were so overwhelmed by the

amazing turnout!  Our special guests, Jim Bradley MPP for St. Catharines, and momstown President, Ann-Marie Burton joined us for our ribbon cutting ceremony as momstown officially became a part of the Niagara Region!  WooHoo!!!

  The day was jam packed with entertainment for the families of Niagara.  With this being our first of many large events, we knew it would be a huge learning curve, but I never anticipated the only problem we'd run into throughout the day was crowd control!  We were really hoping for a good turnout, but never expected almost 2000 people! Amazing!!  Here's a recap of the day's events!

The lineup started well before we opened the doors at 10:00.  Our 100 swag bags were gone within 20 minutes!  

We started the day off with a fantastic dance recital by Creative Dance Company.  The girls did a great job and this was a great way for them to rehearse for their big competition the following week!

We discovered so many fantastic businesses right here in the Niagara Region that made this event so much fun for everyone.  

 

Mad Science of Niagara drew a huge crowd and captivated the audience with some awesome entertaining and educational experiments!

Club Rex provided a hands-on dinosaur experience!  It was an engaging and interactive way to learn about these prehistoric creatures.

There were so many painted faces walking around by RW Entertainment! She did a great job!

Niagara Inflatables provided a great place for the kids to burn off some energy while jumping and climbing!

Our title sponsor, Sugar & Spice Retreat Spa offered free brow waxing with a donation to Community Care and many other services right at the event with a percentage of the proceeds going to Community Care as well.  They raised $200 for this great organization!

We had so many great demonstrations throughout the day, including: Kindermusik, Zuddha Yoga, Little Kickers, 4Cats Art Studio and a great concert by Corrie & Jamie!

Even Clifford made an appearance!  Thank you Scholastic Canada for sending him our way!

Seeing as this was an event for the whole family, we wanted to make sure we had something for everyone, including the dad's, so Subaru of Niagara was a great addition to our event!

Springy's Tot Shoppe was a great place to shop on a day when all stores are closed!  They set up a store right at the event, filled with all your baby and kiddie needs!

There were so many other exciting things to see and do, I could go on and on...I'll try not to!  I do, however; want to throw a special shout out to Peninsula Press for providing momstown Niagara with all of our awesome signage and fulfilling all of our printing needs since we opened earlier this year.  Fantastic job!!!

Through the generosity of the residents of Niagara, we collected 1200 lbs of food and almost $300 for Community Care.  We were so proud to see all seven of the bins overflowing by the end of the day!

 

All in all, the day was a huge success and we look forward to bringing more great events to Niagara in the future.  We'll be celebrating momstown's 6th Birthday this August.  Stay tuned for details!

A huge THANK YOU to Calvin Frank Photography for capturing these amazing moments at the event and our amazing volunteers.  We couldn't have done it without you!

Not a momstown Niagara member yet?  REGISTER HERE for a FREE 4 week trial to find out what else is going on in momstown!